Mastering Tension 😬 : 3 Strategies to Turn Stress into Success

Harnessing Tension: A Hidden Hidden Hack for Active Introverts

What comes to mind when you hear the word “tension”?

Great for guitar strings.  Bad if it shows up in a discussion. Final play of the game that will determine a win or loss for your team?… depends on the outcome. 

It’s a word and feeling that covers both ends of the “Not sure how I feel about that” spectrum. 

Our brain wants to avoid it, but we love the rush of it when it works to our advantage. 

So, how can you master tension as a tool?

Cue suspenseful music... Let’s find out. 

Why Tension Isn’t Always the Enemy

While it often gets a bad reputation, tension, when managed well, can be a powerful catalyst for growth, creativity, and resilience. Tension can serve as either a motivator or a stressor, depending on how you perceive and decide to handle it.

• Good Tension (Eustress): This is the productive kind. It energizes and drives progress, sparking creativity and building resilience. By the way, Eustress sounds like the name of your great, great grandmother's name, right?

• Bad Tension: Chronic or misaligned tension drains energy and inhibits growth.

The Science: Dr. Hans Selye’s concept of eustress—positive stress—shows how moderate tension enhances motivation and performance. Meanwhile, the Yerkes-Dodson Law confirms that balanced tension fosters peak productivity, while excess stress hampers it.

How Tension Fuels Growth

• Sparks Problem-Solving: Tension forces you to think creatively and find solutions. When the road is blocked, you start looking for other paths.

• Builds Emotional Resilience: Overcoming challenges strengthens your adaptability. You’re building an emotional muscle.

• Fosters Creativity: When tension is present, divergent thinking often leads to breakthroughs. Again, you look for different paths and ways of thinking that get you out of your comfort box.

3 Strategies to Leverage Tension for Success

1. Reframe Tension as Opportunity View tension as a chance to grow rather than as a threat. A mindset shift can make all the difference. Think growth mindset.

2. Set Stretch Goals Create goals that are ambitious yet achievable. The balance between effort and reward keeps motivation high. Take a goal you want to achieve. To make it a stretch goal, cut the completion time from 6 months to 3 months. Urgency creates a different lens to look at a situation.

3. Channel Tension into Creativity Use tension as fuel for brainstorming or collaboration. A little pressure can generate innovative ideas and energy.

Avoid These Tension Traps

While tension can be a growth tool, not all forms are beneficial. Watch for these red flags:

🚩  Unrealistic expectations that foster perfectionism (energy zapper)

🚩  Negative environments that breed chronic stress (energy zapper)

🚩  Overcommitting and spreading yourself too thin (energy zapper)

Practical Tips for Tension Awareness

1. Reflect Regularly: Pause to assess whether tension in your life energizes or depletes you. Journaling can uncover patterns. Honestly, I’ve stopped counting the number of articles where I mention journaling as part of the solution. Just start writing.
2. Practice Mindfulness: Use breathing exercises or body scans to identify physical and emotional signs of harmful tension. Simply repeating the word “Release” as you breathe out is an amazing way to begin.
3. Seek Feedback: Trusted mentors or colleagues can help you recognize and adjust how you respond to tension. Watch for how others check in with you or look at you. You feel it, they see it.

Action-Provoking Questions

• Is there an area in your life where you're avoiding tension because it feels uncomfortable? 

• What small step could you take to embrace it as a catalyst for growth?"

Referenced Resources for Further Reading

1. "Eustress" - Wikipedia
2. "The Yerkes-Dodson Law of Arousal and Performance" - Simply Psychology
3. "What Is Eustress? A Look at the Psychology and Benefits" - PositivePsychology.com

Understanding and managing tension can unlock its potential to propel you toward personal and professional success. Managing tension also help you recognize and manage your energy through your intentional and unintentional efforts. A helpful little trick for us active introverts.

Catch you next week!

Joe,

The unstoppable, Active Introvert